Doris Groff, of Saskatoon and formerly of Yorkton, wife of the late Wilfred Groff passed away at St. Paul's Hospital, Saskatoon on April 15, 2016. Doris was born on the family farm in the Theodore District on July 15, 1927. She was the third child of William and Dora Essar. She attended elementary school at Creekside. She often mentioned that in order to get to school, she sometimes had to roll over snow banks that were too big and soft to walk over! She attended high school in Theodore and then went on to Normal School to become a teacher. Doris taught at Winthorpe, Parkland, Crossroads, Caldervale and Crewkerne Schools. In 1949, Doris married Wilfred Groff and the couple farmed in the Crossroads district for a few years. By the time they moved off the farm in 1956, they had four children, Raymond, Wayne, Wendy and Lyle. With Wilfred away working on construction of the TransCanada Pipeline in Ontario, Doris started teaching at Crewkerne School in the fall of 1957. She was now a full-time teacher, raising four young children, almost single handedly while Wilfred was away during construction season. As well, she upgraded her Normal School Teaching Certificate to the new Teacher Certificate standards through many years of University correspondence courses and attending many six week summer school sessions during the summer vacation period. Most years her "angels" got to go along. When Crewkerne School closed in 1970, Doris, Wilfred and their family moved into Yorkton. Doris worked at ladies dress shops in the city. In 1976, Doris and Wilfred built a new home in Yorkton, providing lots of sweat equity themselves. In 1981, because of Wilfred's job transfers they moved to Ponteix and Fort Qu'Appelle in the same year. After Wilfred's death in 1984, Doris retired to Yorkton in 1986. Then she started travelling across Canada and the USA on many bus tours until health issues no longer allowed her to travel. In 2013, Doris moved to Saskatoon where she resided at Bethany Manor until her death. In her younger years, Doris liked curling. She loved old time dances and dancing. She especially loved her cars and driving. She had a very hard time accepting why she couldn't drive anymore and even when Doris no longer had a car, she still renewed her Drivers License and CAA membership. Doris spent many hours sewing, knitting and crocheting. She was a great cook and her pies and pie crusts were the best. Doris embraced technology and her computer was a daily part of her life researching whatever interested her at the time - mostly good - and then printing it out. Paper company shares are going to take a dip now! Doris was predeceased by her parents, William in 1948 and Dora in 1968; her brother, Metro in 1984; sister, Mary in 1996; infant brother, Johnny in 1930; her husband, Wilfred in 1984 and son, Lyle in 2006. Left to cherish her memory and celebrate her life, are her son, Raymond and his wife, Linda; her son, Wayne and his wife, Teresa; her daughter, Wendy and her husband, Don Werner; her daughter-in-law, Corinne Groff as well as eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren, Rae (Hank) Bolsterli (Oliver, Madelyn and Samantha), Tammy (Werner Matlschweiger) Groff (Emilie), Susan Groff, Christien (Ray Rabu) Groff (Terava, Eiza and Aerlin), Christopher (Laurel Stang) Werner (Paige, Hope and Bronwyn), Kyle (Laurel) Werner (Cassandra and Alexandra), Jonathon Groff and Sarah Groff. Funeral Services were held on Friday, April 22, 2016 from the Chapel of Christie's Funeral Home in Yorkton, SK with Kathy Novak serving as the Celebrant. Special taped music selections included "Hallalujah" by Jeff Buckley as the processional, "Young Love" by Sonny James, "I Believe in You" by Don Williams and "You Are My Sunshine" by Johnny Cash as the recessional. Following a luncheon in the Gunn Reception Room at Christie's Funeral Home, the Interment Service took place in the Springside Town Cemetery with Doris' grandchildren, Rae Bolsterli, Tammy Groff, Susan Groff, Christien Groff, Chistopher Werner, Kyle Werner, Jonathon Groff and Sarah Groff as well as her niece, Margaret Kosminsky serving as the casket bearers. Friends so wishing may forward their condolences to the family by visiting www.christiesfuneralhome.com. Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Christie's Funeral Home & Crematorium, Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
